Total Drama: Ogiyatsu Island!
by Cahill161
Summary: Your classic Total Drama SYOC fanfic! The fantastic OCs submitted to me throw down in the odyssey of pain and suffering that is the Total Drama pageant. Many will try, but only one will win! Lying, cheating, sabotaging galore, all with an unusually unique and fun cast of characters! You don't wanna miss this one! (OC SUBMISSION CLOSED)
1. Welcome!

Hey guys!

So, after seeing a ton of people do this, I decided to to a SYOC Total Drama Season! 16 fresh new contestants (counting my own) face off against each other on an obscure island off the east coast of Japan! Watch as they lie, cheat, steal, sabotage, and generally make life miserable for each other. The Catapult of Shame will be our method of sending the condemned home this season! And it is awesome! You can make friends and allies, but in the end, it all comes down to the TWO MILLION DOLLAR PRIZE! So grab a pen, cause the application is en route!

 **(Clean copy in the comments!)**

General-

Name:

Age:

Title: (Heather the Devious or something like that)

Appearance:

Hair:

Eyes:

Height:

Build:

Ethnicity:

Skin Color:

Clothing-

Casual/Everyday:

Formal:

Swimwear:

Sleepwear:

Misc-

Personality:

Bio:

Likes:

Dislikes:

Talents:

Strengths:

Weaknesses (Three at the minimum):

Who they would be friends with:

Who they would be enemies with:

Crush or Relationship:

If so, what type of person:

Goals on Total Drama:

Phobias:

How they would act in a stressful or deadly situation:

Strategy:

If you win, what will you spend the money on:

Audition Tape (optional):


	2. Character Sheet

Hi guys! The reception I got was fantastic, and I appreciate you all sending in your characters.

The complete list is as follows.

Boys:

Kevin Conner

Tae Lee

Miles Jackson

Joshua Sanders

Ben Blackstone

Mikhail Victin

Logan Hathaway

Giuseppe Holcomb

Girls:

Hui Kobayashi

Sasha Gates

Danielle Mason

Jolene Moore

Ariana Brookwood

June Roberts

Charlemagne Beniata

Valeria Victin

Obviously, I'm sorry if your character didn't make it, but I tried to branch out and get the most diversity in the lineup possible. And I'm kind of impressed at how creative y'all got in the creation of your characters.

Expect the next chapter up soon!


	3. Introductions

Approximately fifteen miles off the east coast of Japan, a boat was sailing.

This was a rather normal occurrence, since Japan was an island country, after all. But if you got close and studied the boat, you would notice a few things. Things like the fact that it was jet-black and sleek, like a bullet, and that the face of a certain enigmatic host painted on either side, and that there was sixteen chatting teenagers and a massive black man dressed in a blue flight attendant suit.

It was, of course, the new Total Drama boat. It was carrying a very important cargo, the season seven contestants.

At first glance the teens were not that imposing. A ragtag group of boys and girls, none of them identical to each other. From the outside they all looked, more or less, like average, modern teenagers. But if you were to peel back the surface you would find out that one of them was mute, or has an IQ of over 200, or has a prosthetic arm.

One thing was for certain, they all had the incredibly massive amount of courage to sign for this trip, and they were all going to be picked off until there was one left.

Chris Mclean stood on a dock nearly identical to the ones of the previous boat was in the process of docking nearby. He grinned and turned to a camera.

"Last season, our contestants battled for a million dollars in our craziest season yet! Shawn ended up taking the prize, while Sky lost by a hair's margin! The island's systems were deemed screwed up beyond repair, and the cleanup teams are now in the process of removing all traces of electronics so Pahkitew Island can be safely sent to the ocean floor." His face suddenly turned grim and he muttered "Stupid environmentalists..." under his breath. His expression turned normal again after a little bit and he continued. "But! Our scouts have found this totally awesome new island in the Pacific Ocean! We worked fast, and we managed to get a couple of cabins built and the Outhouse Confessional transported here! And we spared NO expense making sure all of its horrible crimes-of-humanity smells transported here!"

Chris grinned. "But enough of that! Grab your snacks, friends, and padded undies, cause we are waiting no longer! Two million bucks are up for grabs, and you better believe that we're gonna make the victor earn every one of them. This is Total! Drama! Ogiyatsu Island!"

In a way, those words were where it started. The contestants had multiple options to back out of the game beforehand, but now there was no return. The seventh odyssey of pain and suffering has begun. Now these slightly innocent teenagers will have their bodies, minds, and souls pushed to the breaking point in a series of trials that will test their very will to go on, all for the prize of two million dollars.

Total Drama has begun.

Chris watched as the boat thumped against the dock. He watched as the sixteen teenagers unloaded onto the island. He watched each one of them step foot on Ogiyatsu Island. And he chuckled.

"Welcome!" He said, showman's grin glued onto his face. "This island is now your home for the foreseeable future! I suggest you get comfortable. Or not, depending on how you do on the challenges. You've all seen the show. You know how this goes. You will all be competing in a series of challenges, with an average of a challenge a day. At the end of the day there will be an elimination! Who gets eliminated is up to you! Backstabbing is both allowed and encouraged!"

A few of the teens shuffled uncomfortably at that. A skinny boy holding a pair of Ray Bans tentatively spoke up. "Um, how are we getting off the island?" **Logan Hathaway** asked. "And I'm Logan, by the way."

The million-dollar question, indeed. Chris chuckled. "That's a surprise, Logan! But let's just say I hope you aren't afraid of heights!"

Possibilities ran through the contestants' minds. None were good.

"So!" Chris exclaimed, snapping a few out of their scared stupors. "Introductions! You should learn the names of your enemies, after all!" He pointed at a girl on the far end of the line. "You there! What's your name!"

The girl stiffened up, snapping to attention. "A- **Ariana Brookwood**!" the girl said, a bit scared. She was slender and willowy, and held a heavy black bag in one hand.

Chris gestured at it. "What's in the bag?"

Ariana looked at it and blushed. "Oh, um, just my bow and some arrows. I hunt," she said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear a bit self-consciously. Obviously, this got the attention of quite a few of her fellow contestants. She looked like any other pretty teenage girl with her smooth, tanned skin, modern clothing and braided black hair. She didn't look like a hunter.

Chris gave a raised eyebrow as well before allowing a small laugh. "Oh yeah, I forgot we allowed weapons this season. Where you from, Ariana?"

"Anchorage, Alaska!"

A girl down the line a ways looked at Ariana with a particular interest. A girl with a purple feather in her hair.

"Chilly," Chris remarked, then pointed at the next person, a slim boy with scruffy brown hair "What about you?"

The boy blinked, and whipped out a whiteboard and marker, writing out a phrase and showing it to Chris. _I'm_ _ **Mikhail Victin**_ _,_ it read.

Chris looked at him.

"He's mute," the girl next to him said. Her eyes fixed on Chris' in boldly, as if daring him to joke about it. "I'm his sister, **Valeria Victin**."

And there was something about her that gave the host pause. Whether it was the confident swagger she held herself in, or her challenging stance, or the glint in her eyes that seemed to contain all the ambition in the world.

She also didn't look like her brother. But Chris could always bring that up another time.

"Good to know," he said, clearing his throat and moving on. Valeria took Mikhail's hand as the tall boy in the ballcap next to them introduced himself. "I'm Joshua," he said, " **Joshua Sanders**." His voice trailed off the last word and he looked down at his feet, saying no more.

Chris skipped on without a beat. " **Miles Jackson** ," the next boy said. He wore a leather jacket and had determined eyes. But what drew the majority of the attention was the red prosthetic in place of his left arm. He jiggled it. "I'm from San Diego. And before you ask, I lost my arm in a car accident, yes, I'm okay, and no, I don't want to talk about it."

 _I'll get more out of him later,_ Chris thought as he moved on.

The girl next to him was short, barely five feet tall, with long blue hair and a bright orange hoodie. She wore a sarcastic smile. "My name's **June Roberts**. Good to meet a fellow host, McLean," she said, extending her hand for a shake.

Chris ignored it. "You're a host? What's your biz?"

"It's called KaBlam. We film it back in NYC. It's about-"

"Never heard of it, what's your name?" Chris said, earning a slightly incredulous expression from June, as if she couldn't quite believe he was stupid enough to pass up the opportunity he had.

The boy next was Korean, and flashed a smile at Chris. "I am **Taebum Lee** , but you can call me Tae," he said. "I'm from Seoul. It is good to meet you all." He spoke with a deliberate caution that meant English wasn't his first language.

Chris looked at him. "I swear I've seen you before."

Tae looked confused, but then he broke out in a grin. "Oh, I was in a band a few years ago. We were called GR8R. We got a bit _yumyeonghan,_ I mean, famous."

"K-Pop! Nice," Chris said, looking decidedly uninterested.

" **Ben Blackstone** ," the next boy introduced himself. "I live in Edinburgh." He was slender and smirking and tall, tall, tall. Not to mention handsome. A couple of the girls were already looking. Not Chris. His crooked smile and casual stance did nothing to put him at ease, and his British accent was as ominous as storm clouds on the horizon.

And it didn't improve with the next girl. She had shoulder-length hair smooth as silk and bluish-gray eyes that could only be described as mesmerizing. Long, tanned legs and tantalizing bare shoulder teased a story that most boys would love to hear. "My name's **Jolene Moore** ," she said, showing a dazzling smile. "It's so great to meet you, Chris!"

Didn't fool him. Those pretty eyes of hers were hard and cunning as a snake's. Eyes that would salt farmland and burn houses to get what she wants.

 _Those two are snakes,_ Chris thought somewhat ruefully. "Mmhmm," he said in response, not really paying attention to her.

The girl's eyes narrowed viciously, but she stayed silent. Some of the more astute contestants noticed the look she gave the host, and made mental notes to stay the hell away.

The girl with the purple feather, now. "I'm Danielle. **Danielle Mason**." She was a pretty girl with a dainty frame, elfin features and short brown hair, with that trademark feather delicately pinned on the right side of her hair. "My folks live around Exeter. Pleased to meet you."

"You'll be saying otherwise later, take my word for it," Chris said with a smirk. "And you?"

"I am **Charlemagne Rosaira Beniata** , but you can call me Charlie," the next girl said, a Romanian with a dangerous, red-lipped smirk. She was ridiculously short, not even five feet tall, but her hourglass figure didn't suffer over the height.

Chris raised an eyebrow. "No. I'm going to call you, mmmm, Shorty. Get it? Because you're short?"

The girl scoffed, rolled her eyes. Chris pointed at the next person in line.

It was a girl, but there was something . . . _off_ about her. "I'm-I'm **Sasha** ," she said quietly, brushing her light brown hair out of her eyes. She wore a school uniform of some sort, which boggled Chris' mind somewhat. "And before you ask, I'm trans. I identify as a girl, I just haven't had my operation yet."

As is the custom when someone says those words publicly, a general respectful silence fell upon the contestants. Which was broken in a half-second by Chris. "Welcome aboard! Don't worry, we won't pull any punches because of your gender. You'll be treated just as horribly as everyone else!"

Before Sasha could retaliate Chris had already moved on. He pointed at a quiet-looking Japanese girl messing with a Rubik's Cube. The host wasn't sure if she even looked up during the introductions, much less actually spoken.

"What's your name?" He asked her. She didn't hear. Chris frowned, waved his hand. "Hey. Hey. HEY!"

The girl's head snapped up. Hand flew up to immediately correct her black-rimmed glasses. "Ahem. **Hui Kobayashi**. I'm from Tokyo, currently living in Canada."

"Hey, isn't that convenient!" Chris said. "You've come full circle! Sort of."

The girl cocked her head questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"Yknow, back to Japan and all."

Hui frowned, shook her head. "Ogiyatsu is located off the western coast of Kyushu island. Tokyo, being located on the eastern half of Honshu island, is hundreds of kilometers east. I haven't even seen it since I've been here. So no, Chris, I haven't come full circle at all."

Chris blinked, adjusted his collar, decided to move on. "Okay, and you?"

A sweet-looking boy in a hoodie and glasses blinked at him. "I'm Kevin. **Kevin Conner**." And he thrust out his hand rather suddenly. "Pleased to meet you, Chris!" He said, a bit too loudly.

A painful silence as the host stared at him. Slowly, the hand lowered.

"Okay," McLean said. And so he came to the last contestant, an attractive-looking teen with strong Italian features. "Who're you?" Chris asked him.

"I am **Giuseppe Holcomb** ," he said with a smile. His rich accent flowed over the group like a calming wave. "Perhaps you've heard of my sister? Lila Holcomb?"

Blank stares.

"Ah, well," he said sadly. "Not everyone can be as cultured as Italians, I suppose."

Chris turned to the camera. "There you have it! All sixteen of our fresh-faced contestants! And when all is said and done, only one will be left! Who do you like? What are your thoughts? Leave it in the comments- I mean tweet it to TDOI and let us hear it!"

He held his showman's grin a few seconds more before the cameraman waved him off. Immediately he wiped it off his face and wheeled round to face the contestants. "Alright! See that mountain? That is Mount McLean! The peak of which is the highest point on the island! The peak will be where we will all meet for the challenge and, after that, the elimination! It's barely two o'clock JST, so if we're lucky we can just _barely_ squeeze in our first challenge! As such, you are all to meet me at the top of Mount McLean ASAP!"

It was Jolene who would process what he said first. "Wait, what do you mean "meet" you on top of the mountain?"

Chris grinned. "There's no ski lift ! If you want to make it up that mountain, you will have to walk!"

As if it had been rehearsed, a helicopter emblazoned with Chris' smirking face came swinging around the mountain. It arrived in seconds. Chef brought the bird down gentle as a leaf and the host hopped on.

"I'll see you all up!" He shouted over the chopper's din. "Don't be late!"

And it was only once he was long gone did Miles finally break the silence. "What a dick."

Wearily, the contestants began to trudge up the hill. It was going to be a long walk.

 **There's chapter one! What did you all think?**


	4. Interlude: Clear skies and good hunting

In a single groaning, cursing, stumbling crowd, the contestants reached the top of the mountain. To say they were tired would be a gross understatement.

Chris sat next to a great tarp-covered object in a green lawn chair, contentedly slurping from a tall glass of soda. He looked at contestants with an angry frown. "It took you guys an hour to walk that hill. What did you do, stop for fries and a milkshake on the way?"

Murderous glares. "Would it. Have killed you. To give us a ride?" A furious Valeria choked out.

"Oh come on! It was just a little walk! Couldn't have been that bad!"

In truth, Chris spared no expense in landscaping the path so it was as torturous as possible. Uneven gravel, thorny bushes, you name it. He even trimmed away the trees to take away any semblance of shade from the grueling trail.

Japanese summers were humid and typically 90 around degrees.

He chuckled a bit at that. "Alright!" he said, tossing his drink over his shoulder and rising out of his chair. "Now, Total Drama tradition dictates that the contestants be separated into two teams! We wanted to spice up the choosing, and so we whipped up this little beauty! Chef?"

The massive black man, now clad in his typical chef fatigues, grunted and gave the tarp a good yank.

The contraption under it consisted of a small platform propped up below what could only be described as a tanks of slurry. The one on the left was filled with deep blue, and the other one was filled with a vibrant red. A large screen was propped up in the middle, right above a pipe that fed from both of the tanks.

A general chorus of disgust from the teens followed. "What the hell is in those tanks?" Ben asked, an expression of pure disgust on his face.

"Nothing you need worry about! In fact, I think it's probably for the best that you don't know."

"Jesus Christ, there are chunks floating around in there!"

"Alright then, Ben, you're first!" Chris said.

The boy stood there for a moment, staring up at the slurry of unmentionables, and sighed. "Oh fine," he said, before walking up below the pipe. "Just get it over with, will you?" The Brit said, closing his eyes.

Chef gave the contraption a solid kick.

A loud gurgling sound came from the pipe, but no slime. Ben tentatively opened an eye, looked up, right as a torrent of crimson slime poured down.

"SHIT! MY EYE!"

"Aaaaand we have it! Ben Blackstone, welcome aboard the Villains!"

"GODDAMNIT I CAN'T BLOODY SEE!" The shrieking boy was ferried off the platform by Chef, who held him a decent distance away. Jolene watched with a small smile on her face.

Chris let himself enjoy a small chuckle. "Next?"

At the end of it all, the Heroes, adorned in blue, featured Hui, Kevin, Miles, Mikhail, June, Sasha, Giuseppe, and finally Valeria. The Victin siblings were actually placed on different teams before Valeria had a good ten-minute screamfest with Chris before finally giving her an additional shower of blue.

The Villains in red consisted of Ben (who's vision came back but was still a good deal blurry), Jolene, Tae, Joshua, Danielle, Ariana, Logan, and Charlie.

The sun was beginning to set before they had finally finished. The slim had began to dry, leaving behind chunks of something fleshy and slightly squishy. No one knew what it was, no one quite wanted to know.

Chris was angry. He wore a permanent scowl and was snippier than usual. "Well, I hope you guys are satisfied with yourselves. Between your slow little stroll up the mountain and the amount of time you all wasted in the team division you've officially used up all of our airtime. So I'm gonna make sure the challenge tomorrow is _extra_ fun. For me."

The host made a short, dismissive gesture. "Cabins are on the beach. Get some sleep. You'll all need it."

Of course, the teens couldn't do anything more. And so they made their slow, trudging way back down to the mountain.

"If there's one advantage to falling down that damn mountain," an exhausted, sweaty, scratched-and-bruised Kevin said as he pushed through the door to the Boys cabin, "You get down quicker."

That earned a couple chuckles from the other guys, causing Kevin to smile. Except for Ben. Who was still trying to blink the blurriness from his sight.

"I have to say," an equally exhausted Tae said as he collapsed on the nearest bunk. "Korea rarely got as warm as it did today."

"Least they put our stuff here," Miles said, unpacking briskly. The boy pulled out a bubble-wrapped object and tore off the wrapping, revealing a prosthetic painted a matte-black. Miles twisted off his red hand with a grunt and popped on the other one, simple as breathing.

The others stared, and decided not to say anything. No more conversation would flow that night, and the boys would drift off into a deep sleep.

Most of the girls followed suit. Nearly all of them were too tired to do anything but fall asleep. Except one.

A window slid open. Ariana quietly crept out, carrying her bow bag with her. She had changed out of her street clothes, instead opting for a tight-fitting getup of muted black pants and jacket.

The night was crisp and cool. The moon was high and bright. She smiled. A perfect night to hunt.

The girl covered distance quickly, moving over fallen logs and boulders with a deer's grace, navigating around bushes and trees gracefully. The forest of Ogiyatsu Island wasn't unlike the one back home in Anchorage, despite the obvious difference in foliage. She assumed the wildlife wasn't that different either.

The huntress vaulted over a log, sprinted through a clearing and scampered up a big tree. And she listened.

She always had good luck. As if on cue, a white-spotted stag with a great pair of horns crept out into the clearing. Ariana recognized it as a Sika Stag.

The distance was near maximum range. She'd only have one shot. Literally. The teen smirked. Easy.

She drew out her gorgeous, five-foot PSE BlackHawk recurve bow, nocked an arrow and brought it drew it to full draw. The cold steel broadhead glinted in the moonlight.

Sighted in the stag's heart. Steady . . .

"Oh! It's so beautiful!"

The bow waved wildly and Ariana just barely stopped herself from loosing the arrow. "Jesus Christ!" she exclaimed angrily, wheeling around. "Didn't your mother give you enough sense to-"

A hand clamped over her mouth. It was Danielle. _Feather girl!_ Ariana thought in surprise.

The girl pointed, pushing at Ariana's head so that she turned around again. "Look!" she whispered.

A deer had joined the stag. She shared his white spots. As did their children, fauns barely bigger than dogs, with quivering ears and wide eyes that Ariana could see even from at distance.

Her bow hung forgotten from her arm. She watched. No deer back home had the grace, the elegance, the sheer raw beauty that the family of Sikas had. Every step was a sweet note, every bound a graceful measure. And when they broke out in a run back to wherever they came from, the subtle music that only those two could hear swelled to a thundering crescendo.

"This island is so beautiful . . ." murmured the girl. "It would be a shame to take away from that beauty by killing an animal like that."

Ariana's mind raced furiously for the girl's name. "You're Danielle, right?"

The girl nodded, and gave her a smile so sweet and pure it almost broke her heart. "I am. And you're Arianna."

The huntress nodded back, returned that honey smile as best as she could. "Call me Ari."

 **So, what I'm going to do here is I'm gonna do a little showcase, not unlike this one, in which I really spotlight an OC and show them doing what they love, how they interact with people, stuff like that. I figure it's a better way to showcase the OCs than hopping from one line of dialogue to another.**

 **Leave some comments, yo.**


	5. The Morning After: Roosters

**Next chapter will be a challenge, I promise**

The day began with a cock-a-doodle-doo.

A small detail the campers neglected to notice; in each of the single-roomed cabins, there was a small birdcage.

A birdcage that contained a small rooster.

A rooster that had somehow been trained to unleash a cock-a-doodle-doo every morning at five o'clock.

A few campers valiantly attempted to drown it out with pillows over their heads. It worked to a certain degree. At least until an earsplitting rooster's call erupted over the camp's loudspeakers.

"Attention, fresh meat!" Chris' voice. You could almost hear the smile he was undoubtedly wearing. "Please assemble at the top of Mount McLean at your earliest convenience! By which I mean now!"

A few campers chose that moment to throw things. The boys were more _vocal_ about their mood. "Suppose we kill it," a scowling Giuseppe said. "There are plenty more roosters in the world. One dead is not a great shame, no?"

A disheveled-looking Miles snorted as he tugged on a pair of jeans. "As attractive as that idea may be, Chris will just have another one in there by lunch. You know that." He tugged on a leather jacket, straightened it out with a snap.

"Plus h-he'll probably punish us," a sleepy-looking Kevin murmured, still in bed. He looked like he was going to nod off at any moment.

The Italian sighed dramatically, tugged on a vibrant _Italia_ shirt. "Alas! You're probably right, as much as it may pain me to say so. I'd admire his efficiency. If it wasn't directed at me." He added the last sentence with a chuckle.

In the girl's cabin, there was somewhat of a small war going on between Jolene, Ariana, and Charlie over who got to use the bathroom first. Possibly because they all knew they'd take an equally long time. The war seemed to take on an attritional feel before Charlie decided on a bold, albeit risky new strategy to break the stalemate, and simply muscled her way through both girls and slammed the door behind her with an air of extreme finality.

Ariana whacked on the door rather petulantly a couple more times before shrugging and turning away. She could always apply her makeup in her mini-mirror, after all, and a simple braid didn't need that much styling.

Jolene, however, already in a bad mood over the early wake-up (She usually stayed in bed until around nine or ten, as beauty sleep was very important to her) put Charlie on her List.

And so, with the bathroom under enemy control, the girl decided to make some alliances. _Who first . . ._ she thought, keen eyes scanning the room, trying to tone out the loud Romanian singing (read: shrieking) coming from the bathroom.

 _Ah._

The girl named Sasha Gates tugged on her green jacket and closed her suitcase. She was quiet, as always. Until she looked up and saw Jolene.

"Ugh, mornings, right?" she said, rolling her eyes and flashing a smirk.

Sasha stared, then dropped her gaze. "Um, yeah," she said softly.

Silence.

"Do you like the island? I think it's way too hot, to be honest. Almost makes me wish I was back in New York."

Longer silence.

"Okay, um, so what do you like to do with your time? What are your hobbies?"

Painful silence.

Jolene huffed. _Damn. Gotta find a weakness_. Okay, think now. She could crack this nut. It just takes a little application, a little gray matter . . .

She leaned in close. "Y'know, I know what you're going through," the girl whispered.

Sasha looked up, an odd mix of confusion and apprehension and a bit of curiosity written on her honest face. "What do you mean?" she asked.

 _A chink in the armor._ Jolene looked at her, placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "My sister is going through the exact same thing. Her operation is in a month."

A complete lie, of course. She didn't even have a sister. The poor girl still swallowed it hook, line, and sinker, however. "R-really?" she asked.

She nodded solemnly. "Yes, um, Trisha was very conflicted about her, er, predicament." This was delicate work. Sasha was a mystery, so she had to guess at what to say that would really resonate with her. _Easy now, Jolene. Keep it ever so subtle._ "I bet sometimes you feel alone, like you're drowning, and that there's no one around to save you."

Sasha's expression gave her all the answer she needed. _I have her._ "I know," Jolene said, her face a picture of sympathy and affection. "I know, darling. You're strong, and you can do this by yourself if you so desire, but just know that I was always there for Trisha, and I will always be here for you." She squeezed the hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "We have to stick up for each other even if no one else will."

Now, Sasha wasn't a dumb girl. Most of the time she knew when someone was sincere and someone was leading her on. But Jolene's game was so cunning it would ensure that this was not to be one of those times. "I- I don't know what to say," she stammered.

 _And now, ladies and gents, for the coup-de-grace._ "You don't have to say anything. All you need to know is that you have a friend, a confidant, and a sister with me." And so the girl swept away, blond hair swaying freely behind her. She felt Sasha's eyes glued to her, and knew that her blade had found its mark.

The walls had eyes, however. And after she had finished watching that little exchange, the girl named Hui wore small frown on her businesslike face.

 _I'll see if she comes to her senses. If she doesn't then, I'll get involved._ She never had the best social skills, and was often misinterpreted.

She looked around the room and took in the surroundings in earnest. There was the bathroom, with loud singing flowing from it. The one girl with the mute brother, Valeria, was conversing with the blue-haired girl, June.

"So you host a TV show?" Valeria asked.

"Yeah, alongside this one guy named Henry." She smirked sarcastically, shrugged on her orange jacket. "He's kind of a moron, but he's pretty so we keep him around for ratings."

The Spaniard arched an eyebrow.

"Kidding."

"Oh, I would think so!" Valeria exclaimed. "He's your family, no? Family is all you have, and so it must be cherished, and loved, and protected from all who would take it away from you," her fists clenched slowly at the last bit, matching her darkening, grim face. "No matter the cost."

June took a careful step back.

Hui moved on, eyes bored. Danielle and the other girl, Ariana, were in silent conversation, away from the others. Odd. She noticed the Ariana girl sneak out last night, Danielle ghosting only slightly behind her, but couldn't fathom what had transpired in the half-hour that they were both gone.

A secret tryst, perhaps? Hui gave a small chuckle. Not that she was protesting. It was just amusing to think of such things so early on in the game.

The girl, Jolene, was busying herself spritzing on a few puffs of some quartz-bottled perfume. Despite herself, she gave a small shudder. Of all the campers, that girl rubbed her the worst. And what was scary about it was that no one else seemed to recognize it.

Someone had put on music from their phone. The cabin gave a collective cheer. The type of music was never really for Hui. Pop did not greatly appeal to her. But somehow Ed Sheeran could weave a tapestry of beauty with his voice so great that it turned normally girls gray in mindset into giggling, sycophantic ciphers.

Ugh. Not interested. She was already dressed. Hui left the cabin.

The early Japanese morning was beautiful. The sun was just barely up to coat the environment in a sunrise sparkle. It was quiet. Just the way she liked it.

The girl spotted a picnic table, perched herself on the bench. Closed her eyes. Bliss.

"H- hi there."

Hui opened her eyes. A boy stood in front of him. That's odd. No one really talked to her. Or wanted to, at least."Hello," she replied cautiously.

The wind picked up, ruffling hair and snapping at shirts. The boy looked like he was struggling with something. "I- ahem- I like your shirt!" he said, somewhat in triumph.

Hui looked down, tugged at her Hello Kitty tee self-consciously. "Oh, this old thing? Thanks. I like your hoodie." She said with a smile.

The boy stood there for a second, and then he broke out in a grin. "You do?" the boy exclaimed.

"Certainly. The stripes are nice."

"I think so too! I saw it in the store and I was like, "I need the stripes", you know?" An intense period of laughing followed.

Hui blinked.

"I- uh- I think it's great that you want to do this and all," he said.

"What do you mean?"

The boy blinked. "I mean, I think it's great that you want to do this thing, this whole thing, like, even though it's like, out of your comfort, um, zone." An intense period of blushing followed.

Hui cocked her head.

"So, um, yeah." The boy looked like he was about to explode. A sudden wave of affection of the sort a sister would feel for her siblings swept her. "You're sweet," she said, giving him a broad smile.

And for some reason he ran off.

Hui watched him go with a frown. Did she do something? The girl never had the best social skills, but she was reasonably sure that she didn't say anything particularly offensive.

What was that boy's name? She wondered. Kierstan? Kaladin? No, that was from one of her books. Oh, Kevin! Kevin Conner.

"Kevin Conner," she mused out loud.

Just then, the door to the cabin slammed open, and the girl contestants streamed out into the courtyard, right as the boys did the same. They were loud, and laughing, and Hui rolled her eyes. It's like they were in a silent competition on which gender could be the biggest swaggercocks. Or swaggerovaries, depending.

Swaggerovaries? Jesus H. Christ, she needed to get more sleep.

As if pulled together by an invisible rope, the two groups linked into one and began trekking up the mountain. Hui watched them go, and, with a sigh, hopped down and joined them.


End file.
